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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. spring — the season
  5. pitch — completely
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. court — of law
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. fork — in a road
  16. spring — of water
  17. date — the fruit
  18. pitch — a sports field

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com